EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) – The UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team opened the 2014-2015 season with a 61-54 win over Coe College at the UW-Eau Claire Tip-Off Classic Saturday night in Zorn Arena.
The Blugolds scored the first six points of the game and held the lead for most of the first half, however the Kohawks evened the score at 21 with 3:24 left in the first half before taking the lead. After a Courtney Lewis (Sr.-Praire du Chien, WI) three-pointer, the Blugolds pulled within one as Coe took a 27-26 lead in the locker room.
The Blugolds came out strong in the second half. After knotting the score at 29, UW-Eau Claire went on a 17-5 run to take their biggest lead of the game, 46-34 midway through the half.
Coe fought back and cut the lead to four, but the Blugolds held off the Kohawks for a 61-54 victory.
Lewis led all scorers with 18 points. The senior was six-for-13 from the field, included a perfect three-for-three from behind the arc. She also tallied seven rebounds, six assists and two steals.
Teenie Lichtfuss (Jr.-Oshkosh, WI) also chipped in 13 points for the Blugolds while Megan Hayes paced the Kohawks with 13 points.
Both teams will be back on the court Sunday for the last day of the tournament. Coe will take on UW-Oshkosh at 3 p.m. and UW-Eau Claire will play Hamline in game two at 5 p.m. in Zorn Arena.
-JM-
